Four people died while nine others sustained injuries in road accidents recorded on New Year’s Day, the Malawi Police Service (MPS) has said.
National Police spokesperson Lael Chimtembo said in an interview on Saturday that MPS registered nine road accidents during this year’s New Year celebrations, just like in 2025.
He said injuries dropped to nine in 2026 from 15 last year, but fatal accidents increased.
“In terms of severity, MPS recorded four fatal accidents resulting in four deaths in 2026, compared to three fatal accidents with four deaths in 2025. This represents a 33 percent increase in fatal accidents, while fatalities remained unchanged,” said Chimtembo.
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He said the victims included a two-year-old female pedestrian, a 23-year-old male pedal cyclist, a 24-year-old male motorcyclist and an unidentified male pedestrian.
On regional distribution, Chimtembo said the Northern Region recorded two fatal accidents, while the Central and Southern regions registered one each.
He said: “The pattern of fatalities continues to highlight the high vulnerability of pedestrians, pedal cyclists and motorcyclists on Malawi’s road network.
“Most of the accidents were attributed to over-speeding and careless overtaking. MPS calls upon citizens to partner with the police in fostering a culture of caution and compliance to make our roads safer throughout the year.”
Road Safety Alert Foundation executive director Joel Jere expressed concern over the lives lost and the number of accidents recorded.
He said behaviour change among road users could significantly reduce preventable accidents in 2026.
“If you look at most of the accidents that occurred in 2025, they originated from road user behaviour such as over-speeding and drink-driving. These are preventable. In 2026, road users must commit to behaviour change and observe speed limits,” said Jere.
During the 2025 Christmas and Boxing Day period, MPS recorded nine deaths and 36 injuries from 30 road accidents, a 58 percent increase from 2024, when 19 accidents were recorded and 13 people died.
Statistics from MPS show that overall road accidents declined by 11 percent in 2025, with 3,527 accidents recorded compared to 3 947 in 2024. Road accident deaths also dropped slightly, from 958 in 2024 to 931 in 2025.
